Prior to working on The Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda had worked predominantly with sports and action games. In the six years from its founding to Arena '​s 1994 release, Bethesda had released ten games, six of them sports[1] games, with such titles as Hockey League Simulator, NCAA Basketball: Road to the Final Four ('91/'92 Edition), and Wayne Gretzky Hockey,[2] and the remaining four adaptations from other media,[1] primarily the Terminator series.[2] Bethesda's course changed abruptly when it began its first action role-playing venture. Designer Ted Peterson recalls: "I remember talking to the guys at Sir-Tech who were doing Wizardry VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant at the time, and them literally laughing at us for thinking we could do it."[3] Ted Peterson worked alongside Vijay Lakshman as one of the initial designers of what was then simply Arena, a "medieval-style gladiator game."[3][4]

Peterson and Lakshman were joined by Julian Lefay who, according to Peterson, "really spear-headed the initial development of the series."[3] Peterson, Lakshman and LeFay were longtime aficionados of pencil and paper role-playing games,[3] which greatly influenced the creation of the world of Tamriel.[4] They were also fans of Looking Glass Studios' Ultima Underworld series, their main inspiration for Arena.[3] Initially, Arena was not to be a role-playing game at all. The player, and a team of his fighters, would travel about a world fighting other teams in their arenas until the player became "grand champion" in the world's capital, the Imperial City.[4] Along the way, side quests of a more role-playing nature could be completed. As the process of development progressed, however, the tournaments became less important and the side quests more.[3] RPG elements were added to the game, as it expanded to include cities outside the arenas, and dungeons beyond the cities.[4] Eventually it was decided to drop the idea of tournaments altogether, and focus on quests and dungeons,[3] making the game a "full-blown RPG".[4] Although the team had dropped all arena combat from the game, all the material had already been printed up with the title, so the game went to market as The Elder Scrolls: Arena. Bethesda Founder Christopher Weaver came up with the name of "The Elder Scrolls",[3] and the words eventually came to mean "Tamriel's mystical tomes of knowledge that told of its past, present, and future."[4] The game's initial voice-over was changed in response, beginning: "It has been foretold in the Elder Scrolls ..."[3]

Bethesda missed their Christmas 1993 deadline. The game was released in the first quarter of 1994, "really serious for a small developer/publisher like Bethesda Softworks." The packaging included a scantily clad female warrior, which further contributed to distributor concern, leading to an initial distribution of only 20,000 units. Having missed the Christmas sales season, the development team was concerned that "We had screwed the company." Nevertheless, sales continued to grow, month after month, as news of the game was passed by word-of-mouth.[3] Despite some initial bugginess,[3] and the formidable demands the game made on players' machines,[5] it became a cult hit.[1] Evaluations of the game varied from "modest"[5] to "wild."[1] Still, the game maintained traction with its audience. Game historian Matt Barton concluded that, "the game set a new standard for this type of CRPG, and demonstrated just how much room was left for innovation."[5]

A first-person screenshot from Daggerfall, demonstrating the user interface and graphical capabilities of the game.

Work on The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall began immediately after Arena '​s release in March 1994.[6] Ted Peterson was assigned the role of Lead Game Designer.[3]Daggerfall's plot was less clichéd than Arena's and involved a "complex series of adventures leading to multiple resolutions."[3] With Daggerfall, Arena's experience-point-based system was replaced with one rewarding the player for actually role-playing their character.[6]Daggerfall came equipped with an improved character generation engine, one that included a GURPS-influenced class creation system, offering players the chance to create their own classes, and assign their own skills.[3][7]Daggerfall was developed with an XnGine engine, one of the first truly 3D engines. Daggerfall realized a game world the size of Great Britain,[6] filled with 15,000 towns and a population of 750,000.[1] It was influenced by analog games and literature Julian LeFay or Ted Peterson happened to be playing or reading at the time, such as Dumas's The Man in the Iron Mask and Vampire: The Masquerade.[3] It was released on August 31, 1996.[8] Like Arena, Daggerfall's initial release suffered from some bugs, leaving consumers disgruntled.[5] These early anomalies were fixed in later versions. This experience led to a more prudent release schedule for future games.[9]

Following the release of Daggerfall, work began on three separate projects all at once: Battlespire, Redguard, and Morrowind. Battlespire, originally titled Dungeon of Daggerfall: Battlespire, was the first of the three to be released,[10] on November 30, 1997.[11] Originally designed as an expansion pack for Daggerfall, it was repackaged as a stand-alone game. Battlespire focused on dungeon romping and offered multiplayer gaming—player versus playerdeathmatch— the only series title to do so[10] before the release of the Elder Scrolls Online in 2014.[original research?]Redguard was the second of the three titles to be released, on October 31, 1998.[12] It was a pure action-adventure game inspired by Tomb Raider, Prince of Persia, and the Ultima series.[13]Redguard did not offer the player the chance to create their own character. Instead, players would play the prefabricated "Cyrus the Redguard".[13] Both games did poorly with Bethesda's public. Players used to the vast open spaces of Daggerfall did not take well to the reduced worlds of Redguard and Battlespire. Based upon its customers' clear desire for massive RPG worlds, Bethesda redoubled its efforts to build the next major chapter.[1]

The third title in The Elder Scrolls series was first conceived during the development of Daggerfall.[14] Initially designed to encompass the whole province of Morrowind and allow the player to join all five Dunmer Great Houses it was decided that the scope of the game was too much for the technology available at the time.[14] At publication it covered just the isle of Vvardenfell and allowed the player to only join three of the Great Houses. The XnGine was scrapped and replaced with Numerical Design Limited's Gamebryo, a Direct3D powered engine, with T&L capacity,[15] 32-bit textures and skeletal animation.[16] It was decided that the game world would be populated using the methods the team had developed in Redguard; with the game objects crafted by hand, rather than generated using the random algorithmic methods.[17]

The project took "close to 100 man-years to create". Bethesda tripled their staff and spent the first year developing The Elder Scrolls Construction Set. This allowed the game staff to easily balance the game and to modify it in small increments rather than large.[14] Ted Peterson, who had left following the release of Daggerfall, returned to work as an author of in-game material, and as a general consultant on the lore-based aspects of the work.[18] The PC version of Morrowind had gone gold by April 23, 2002,[19][20] and was released on May 1 in North America,[21] with the Xbox release set at June 7.[22] On January 3, Bethesda announced that game publisher Ubisoft would take control of Morrowind's European distribution, in addition to those of eight other Bethesda games.[23]

The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal expansion pack went gold on November 1[24] and was released, with little fanfare,[25] on November 6.[26]Tribunal puts the player in the self-contained, walled city of Mournhold, which can be teleported to from Morrowind's land mass.[24] Development on the game began immediately after Morrowind shipped, giving the developers a mere five-month development cycle to release the game. The prior existence of the Construction Set, however, meant that the team "already had the tools in place to add content and features very quickly".[27] Interface improvements, and specifically an overhaul of Morrowind's journal system, were among the key goals.[27][28]Morrowind 's second expansion, The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon, went gold by May 23,[29] and was released on June 6.[30] It had been worked on since the release of Tribunal.[31] In the expansion the player travels to the frozen island of Solstheim and is asked to investigate the uneasiness of the soldiers stationed there.

Work on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion began in 2002, immediately after Morrowind's publication.[32]Oblivion was developed by Bethesda Softworks, and the initial Xbox 360 and Personal computer (PC) releases were co-published by Bethesda and Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Games.[33][34]Oblivion was released in March 21, 2006.[35] Developers working on Oblivion focused on providing a tighter storyline, more developed characters[36][37] and to make information in the game world more accessible to players.[38]Oblivion features improved AI,[39][40] improved physics,[41][42] and improved graphics.[41][43][44] Bethesda developed and implemented procedural content creation tools in the creation of Oblivion's terrain, leading to landscapes that are more complex and realistic than those of past titles, but had less of a drain on Bethesda's staff.[45][46]

In August 2010, Todd Howard revealed Bethesda were currently working on a game that had been in development since the release of Oblivion, and that progress was very far along. While the game was conceptualized after Oblivion's release, main development was restricted until after Fallout 3 was released.[47] In November, a journalist from Eurogamer Denmark reported overhearing a developer on a plane talking about the project; a new The Elder Scrolls game,[48][49] although Bethesda did not comment on the report. At the Spike Video Game Awards in December, Todd Howard appeared on stage to unveil a teaser trailer and announce the title of the game.[50]The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released on November 11, 2011.

On May 3, 2012, The Elder Scrolls Online was revealed. The Elder Scrolls Online was released for Windows and OS X on April 4, 2014, with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions initially slated to follow in June 2014 but later delayed till June 9, 2015.[51]

The Elder Scrolls games can be safely categorized as role-playing games (RPG), although they do include elements taken from action and adventure games. In Arena, as in many RPGs, players advance by killing monsters (and thereby gaining experience points) until a preset value is met, whereupon they level-up. However, in Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion the series took a skill-based approach to character advancement. Players develop their characters' skills by applying them, and only level-up when a certain set of skills have been developed. Skyrim took a new approach, where the more a skill is leveled, the more it helps to level the character. This shifted the focus away from character creation and more onto character development. The flexibility of the games' engines has facilitated the release of game extensions (or mods) through The Elder Scrolls Construction Set.

The Elder Scrolls main series of games emphasizes different aspects of the gaming experience than most computer role-playing games. A brief article by Joystiq in early November 2006 compared BioWare's creations to Bethesda's by noting a difference in emphasis. Bethesda's creations focused on "aesthetic presentation and open-ended adventuring"; BioWare's on a combat system and modular architecture.[52] This overarching aim has been noted by their designers as well. Bethesda has described their motivations in creating the first series game, Arena, as those of any good pen-and-paper RPG: creating an environment in which the player could be what the player wants and do what the player wants.[53]Daggerfall '​s manual begins with a sort of design manifesto, declaring the developers' intention to "create a book with blank pages", and "a game designed to encourage exploration and reward curiosity". Choices, in the form of paths taken by the player, to do good, to chase after evil, are left open to the player, "just like in real life".[54] This design trend continued with Morrowind, following the hiatus of similarly epic games in the interim, though Joystiq's previously noted insistence on graphics came again to the fore. During the development of Morrowind, Bethesda tripled its staff, so as to perfectly color its newly hand-made world. In their own words, "We knew we had to exceed the visual polish of the other games on the market, and we made it our goal to put The Elder Scrolls back into the forefront of game innovation."[55]

The Elder Scrolls world can be described as one of high fantasy with influences from a multitude of cultures all over the globe (Medieval, Roman, Nordic, Ancient Japanese, etc.). Like most works of high or epic fantasy, the Elder Scrolls games are typically serious in tone and epic in scope, dealing with themes of grand struggle against a supernatural or evil force. Many races exist in the world of the Elder Scrolls, some typical of high fantasy works (humans and elves), some atypical (the bestial Argonian and Khajiit races), and some subversions (the Dwemer, known colloquially as "dwarves", follow the high fantasy stereotype of being subterranean-dwelling, skilled metallurgists and masons, but are in fact a variety of elf), magic and sorcery, mythical creatures, factions with their own political agendas, walled medieval cities and strongholds, and plot elements driven by prophecies and legends. In accordance with many literary high fantasy works, the world of The Elder Scrolls is known for its attention to detail including well developed lore and back story. This includes a vast amount of information such as names, dates, and places that constitute its history and the interconnected structure of its various societies, cultures, and religions. Lore including histories and legends are contained in thousands of readable in-game books that are scattered throughout the game world.

The Elder Scrolls games primarily take place on the continent of Tamriel, located on the world of Nirn. The exceptions are The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire, which is set in a "slipstream" dimension found between the mortal plane of Mundus and the myriad otherworldly planes of Oblivion, and portions of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which venture into a particular Oblivion plane called the Deadlands, the realm of the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon. Other continents exist on Nirn aside from Tamriel, such as Akavir, Yokuda, and Atmora,[56] but none have been used as a setting for a game in the series.

Tamriel itself is divided into nine provinces or regions, each of which is dominated by a distinct race. Black Marsh is home to the Argonians; Cyrodiil is home to the Imperials; Elsweyr is home to the Khajiit; Hammerfell is home to the Redguards; High Rock is home to the Bretons; Morrowind is home to the Dunmer, or Dark Elves; Skyrim is home to the Nords; Summerset Isle is home to the Altmer, or High Elves; and Valenwood is home to the Bosmer, or Wood Elves. A tenth race, the Orsimer, or Orcs, reside in settlements scattered across Tamriel and have unsuccessfully attempted on two occasions to establish their own homeland, Orsinium, in the mountains of High Rock.[57]

As of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, chronologically the latest-set game in the series (taking place in the 201st year of the Fourth Era of recorded history, (abbreviated as 4E 201), the balance of power in Tamriel has shifted dramatically in the wake of the Oblivion Crisis of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The Third Empire of Tamriel, which once controlled the entire continent, has declined significantly under the new Mede dynasty of emperors; the Empire can claim only High Rock, Skyrim, and the capital province of Cyrodiil for its own. Three of the Empire's former provinces, Black Marsh, Hammerfell, and Morrowind, are effectively independent: Black Marsh and Hammerfell seceded from the Empire, while Imperial forces withdrew from Morrowind after it was devastated by a volcanic eruption and an invasion from Black Marsh. Rising to rival the Empire is the Aldmeri Dominion, which rules Summerset Isle and Valenwood outright, and claims the kingdoms of Anequina and Pellitine (the remnants of the province of Elsweyr) as client states. The Empire once defeated a Dominion invasion, but the effort exhausted it and peace was only achieved by conceding to many of the Dominion's harsh demands. Skyrim is mired in civil war over the question of secession from the Empire, but some of Tamriel's inhabitants believe the conflict is only a distraction from the true looming threat: a second war between the Empire and Dominion with both sides provoking each other locked in a state of "cold war".[58]

The actual Elder Scrolls play a very limited role in the storyline of the series, serving only as framing plot device (i.e., "[the events in this game] were foretold in the Elder Scrolls..."). The Elder Scrolls themselves are rarely referred to in-game, or even in the in-game literature. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion marked the first actual appearance of the scrolls in the final quest of the Thieves Guild questline.[59] The scroll itself appears as an incomprehensible chart, containing luminous glyphs.[59]

Information about The Elder Scrolls is sparse, and often contradictory. They are thought to be relics from the Aedra (legendary beings similar to Daedra that sacrificed their immortality to create the world). Attempting to read the scrolls also proves difficult as the scrolls are protected by several layers of magical safeguards, this includes the blinding light that emanates from the scroll's text. Another safeguard exists independent of the light that makes the writing on the scrolls indecipherable. However, there exist a sect of monks, the Order of the Ancestor Moths, who devote their lives to the reading and interpreting of the Elder Scrolls.[59] Bypassing the scrolls' safeguards, however, takes a huge toll on the monks' vision. Senior members who read the scrolls wear blindfolds at all times when they are not divining the scrolls' content and retired Moth Priests are always completely blind. Attempting to read the Elder Scrolls without training always results in failure and immediate blindness. However, cosmically important individuals, or individuals that are the subject of prophecy, have been able to see the unencrypted writing on the Elder Scrolls without the associated rituals or resulting blindness. A book entitled "Lost Histories of Tamriel" provides further insight on the Elder Scrolls, stating that when any event has actually occurred, it sets itself unchangeably into the scrolls, and no action, magical or otherwise, can alter this.[60]

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the scrolls are described as "fragments of creation" (a reference to the creation-myth associated with the Aedra), and play a vital role in the main questline. They are said to be very descriptive works of writing and without vast knowledge of the arts, one may go insane trying to decipher them. The player is tasked with retrieving an Elder Scroll from an expansive Dwemer ruin known as Blackreach, located underground. During gameplay, if the player tries to read the Elder Scroll they will go temporarily blind. It is discovered that the Elder Scroll was used by the ancient Nords to battle Alduin, the ancient Dragon prophesied to destroy the world, inadvertently sending him forward in time. The player character uses the Scroll to travel back in time to gain the knowledge of how the Nords were able to combat Alduin. It is also described that the number of the Scrolls is unknown not because of their immense quantity, but because the number itself is unknowable, as the Scrolls "do not exist in countable form". The actual number and placement of elder scrolls fluctuates constantly as it is said that they technically exist and do not exist at the same time. This makes their predictions difficult to cite authoritatively because entire scrolls or entries can change or vanish as events transpire. This unpredictability has caused other ascetic groups, such as the Greybeards from Skyrim, to find the existence of the Elder Scrolls a blasphemy.

In Dawnguard, Lord Harkon attempts to use the Elder Scrolls to blot out the sun so the vampires can overwhelm Tamriel. Whether the player joins the vampires or the Dawnguard they will find a Moth Priest to read the scrolls that are collected. Once collected, the Moth Priest reveals that he is blind, not having prepared himself properly in his hurry to read the first scroll. So he tells the player of a ritual allowing the player to read the scrolls. The ritual involves harvesting bark from a special Canticle Tree and using it to bring Ancestor Moths to a shaft of light and reading all three scrolls to find Auriel's Bow. The Moth Priest Dexion tells that Ancestor Moths can give a person the extra sense needed to truly read the scrolls.

On August 1, 2013, Bethesda revealed The Elder Scrolls Anthology for the PC, a compilation of all five of The Elder Scrolls games, including all of the expansions to Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim.[61]

Shortly after the release of Morrowind, Bethesda released a mobile version called The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Mobile. This game is not usually listed among the Travels titles.[62]

In 2012, Complex ranked The Elder Scrolls at number 20 on the list of the best video game franchises.[111] In 2013, The Elder Scrolls was voted as the Greatest Game Series of the Decade on GameSpot, beating out 64 other competitors. The Elder Scrolls reached the final round, beating the Grand Theft Auto series by a margin of 52.5% of the vote for The Elder Scrolls to 47.5% for Grand Theft Auto.[112][113]

In August 2011, Bethesda Softworks contacted the developer of Minecraft, Mojang, claiming that the intended trademark of the title Scrolls for its new game breached Bethesda's trademark on The Elder Scrolls.[114] On March 10, 2012, Markus Persson tweeted that the two had come to an agreement over the use of the name. The agreement prohibits Mojang from using the title Scrolls in any future sequels of the game.[115]